Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS Stock Holdings Boosted by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC recently increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. by 0.8%, acquiring an additional 15,658 shares, bringing its total ownership to 1,915,425 shares valued at approximately $74.2 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share, to be paid on September 30th, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.4%.
• Telephone and Data Systems reported a loss of ($0.05) EPS for the recent quarter, missing the consensus estimate, despite generating revenues of $1.19 billion.

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,915,425 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,658 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 1.68% of Telephone and Data Systems worth $74,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 121.8% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,342 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,092 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter worth approximately $200,000. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 80.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TDS. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Telephone and Data Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.00.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE TDS traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.10. 1,382,234 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,417,950. The business's 50-day moving average price is $37.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.46. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $42.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.34 and a beta of 0.54.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The Wireless communications provider reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.04). Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 0.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems's payout ratio is presently -16.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Vicki L. Villacrez sold 73,878 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $2,872,376.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 81,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,150,640.80. This represents a 47.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 29,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $1,133,413.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,892 shares in the company, valued at $776,185.84. This represents a 59.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 276,650 shares of company stock valued at $10,690,789. 14.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Telephone and Data Systems Company Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc, a telecommunications company, provides communications services in the United States. It operates through two segments: UScellular and TDS Telecom. The company offers wireless solutions to consumers, and business and government customers, including a suite of connected Internet of things (IoT) solutions, and software applications for monitor and control, business automation/operations, communication, fleet and asset management, smart water solutions, private cellular networks and custom, and end-to-end IoT solutions; wireless priority services and quality priority and preemption options; smartphones and other handsets, tablets, wearables, mobile hotspots, fixed wireless home internet, and IoT devices; and accessories, such as cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards, as well as consumer electronics, including audio, home automation and networking products.